Mandarin Orange, Kotatsu, And A Found Cat

From then on, my life changed completely.
As before, when Miku-san was around, I stayed in my cat form, and when Tsukiyama-san was the only one at home, I was always with her in human form.

The help that Tsukiyama-san was talking about was helping her with her work.
She always cleans the entire house by herself and does everything from cooking to laundry. In a sense, as the saying goes, she was in desperate need of help.

Of course, I had never done any housework before, so she taught me everything from scratch and I gradually increased what I could do.

The first thing she taught me was cleaning, which she said was the starting point of all housework.

“I will teach you many things from now on, but first you must be able to clean perfectly.”

True to her words, she thoroughly taught me everything about cleaning, from the first to the hundredth detail.
She was apparently very strict in her teaching, but I was able to learn without any difficulty.
Seeing me like that, Tsukuyama-san was a little surprised, but she was convinced by herself, saying, “well, cats are said to like to be clean…”

The next thing she taught me was laundry. I was able to do this without any problems.
Putting aside my love of cleanliness, I myself may be relatively good at housework. At least, I don’t feel that I was bad at it at all.

Perhaps Tsukiyama-san knew this, and after that, she began to leave various things to me alone.
It was fun and fulfilling to have my work appreciated and to be able to do more and more new things.

And the last thing she taught me was cooking.
I was getting used to working with Tsukiyama-san, and I thought I would be able to learn cooking in no time.
…However, things did not go so well.

With Tsukiyama-san watching over me, I never made a mistake that would ruin the ingredients, but I somehow had a hard time remembering to do this compared to other household chores.
While I had no problem with simple dishes, when it came to slightly more difficult ones, it was difficult to understand Tsukiyama-san’s words, and I really had no idea about the amounts and proportions of the seasonings.

At first I was distressed because I did not know the cause of my not understanding, but the reason was very simple: it was all due to my lack of education.
A language ability that allows only simple conversation. Calculation skills to the extent that I could count on my fingers.
It was impossible for me to understand the basics of cooking and recipes in such a state.

Tsukiyama-san, who could not bear to see me in such a situation, began to teach me how to study at one point.

She purchased general textbooks and other materials at her own expense, as well as maid’s uniform, and took time out of her work schedule to help me study.
I thought that she taught me only the words and calculations necessary for cooking, but she taught me everything at a level that a normal human child would learn.

For me, this was always the most enjoyable time I spent with Tsukiyama-san.
She taught me to read and write, and I was able to read books that I had previously only looked at the covers of, not to mention cooking recipes.
She also taught me arithmetic from scratch, and in addition to the calculations necessary for cooking, I learned about time and money.

I realized that I had started this job to help Tsukiyama-san, who was pressed for time, but now I was adding even more time and effort to her life.
Even so, Tsukiyama-san never complained about anything; on the contrary, she actively helped me with my studies.

In this way, I acquired housekeeping skills and education at a pace that surprised even Tsukuyama-san, and I became perfectly capable of doing most of the tasks she usually did.

　＊　＊　＊

“Rumi-san. May I leave today’s work to you?”

One morning, as I headed to Tsukiyama-san’s room to change into my work clothes as usual, she asked me that.
As if to follow up on her apologetic look, I quickly smiled and replied.

“Yes, I’m fine. Take care.”
“Thank you very much. Then, I’ll leave the rest to you.”

With that, she quickly got ready and went out. After I saw her off, I threw my arms around myself to get fired up.

“Good.”

I am the only one in the house right now, and Tsukiyama-san won’t be back until after noon on an errand.
Until then, I have to get some housework done. Yes, by myself.

Recently, it was not unusual for me to be entrusted with household chores for a little while in anticipation of how well I was doing.
Of course, it was not that Tsukuyama-san was unilaterally forcing me to do the work, but it was based on mutual consultation.

It was a matter of course, but Tsukiyama-san has a family.
She works as a live-in for a reason, but she has a husband and children at home, just like any other person.
Since she basically never leaves the house, it has been difficult for her to spend time with her family.

When I heard about this, I suggested that if I became as good at my job as Tsukiyama-san, she could use me to spend more time with her family.
This was the only way I could repay her for all the time and effort she had put into me.

At first, Tsukiyama-san was not very enthusiastic about the idea, but as the number of tasks I could perform gradually increased, she began to consider it.
Then, depending on the child’s condition and other errands, she would entrust me with tasks like the one she did today.

“First of all, I have to clean the house. I have to get as much done as possible before Tsukiyama-san comes home.”

Even though I was entrusted with the job, of course I would be back before Miku-san and my parents came home.
I want to get as much done as possible for Tsukiyama-san, who was busy with housework, to save her a lot of trouble.

Naturally, the workload was simply double that of when Tsukiyama-san was present, but she originally handled this amount by herself as well.
With that kind of energy, I proceeded with the cleaning as quickly and carefully as possible.

Even though it was a considerable amount of work, once I got started, the work progressed well with the passage of time.
A few hours pass, and there were only a few rooms left. It was almost time for Tsukiyama-san to come home, but I think I could finish at least one more room.

As I was cleaning Miku-san’s room, one of the remaining rooms, an unfamiliar notebook on her desk caught my eye as I was finishing.

“…?”

On the cover was written in large letters the word “Diary,” and other than that, there was no name or class written on it.
It didn’t look like a notebook she uses at school, so it couldn’t be something she forgot, such as homework.
If so, is this a diary that Miku-san keeps personally? I have never seen her keeping a diary before…

I reached for the diary on some impulse, and then quickly came back to myself.
It’s not a good idea to look at someone’s diary without their permission. Besides, I’m still in the middle of cleaning. I have to finish what I have to do first.

I grabbed the broom again and left Miku’s room, and at the same time, the front door was unlocked.
Tsukiyama-san must have returned. I rushed to the door to greet her and called out to her as soon as it was opened.

“Welcome back. Tsukiyama-sa…”
“Ah, thank you for welcoming me. Tsukiyama…”

We both uttered the same name and were speechless, unable to hide our expressions of surprise at each other.

—In front of me stood a woman who was Tsukiyama-san’s employer…Miku-san’s mother.